THE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF Brazil has big plans for the Amazon rainforest.
He wants to carve more mines and pave new roads. He wants fewer penalties for cutting down trees, and he has promised to halt growth of a network of indigenous forest reserve... moreTHE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF Brazil has big plans for the Amazon rainforest.
He wants to carve more mines and pave new roads. He wants fewer penalties for cutting down trees, and he has promised to halt growth of a network of indigenous forest reserves. By merging the nation's agriculture and environment ministries, he hopes to make it easier for Brazil's powerful soy and cattle industries to transform more native jungle into pasture and farms.
When Jair Bolsonaro, a 63-year-old retired Brazilian military officer, takes the helm in January of a country that manages 1.5 million square miles of the Amazon, the risks to wildlife and indigenous tribal communities will be clear. If Bolsonaro follows through on his campaign promises, deforestation rates in Brazil could almost immediately triple, according to an assessment by scientists.

But the consequences of Bolsonaro's policies also would be felt far beyond areas hit by chainsaws. Even modest increases in deforestation could affect water supplies in Brazilian cities and in neighboring countries while harming the very farms he is trying to expand. More massive deforestation might alter water supplies as far away as Africa or California.
Most troubling of all: Some scientists suggest the Amazon may already be nearing a tipping point. The region has been so degraded that even a small uptick in deforestation could send the forest hurtling toward a transition to something resembling a woodland savanna, according to an analysis earlier this year by two top scientists. In addition to forever destroying huge sections of the world's largest rainforest, that shift would release tremendous quantities of planet-warming greenhouse gases, which could hasten the decline of whatever forest remained.
"We are already in a very critical situation in terms of climate change," says Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, a native Brazilian who studies tropical forests at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. She's the lead author on a study published this month showing that the mix of tree species across the forest is already shifting in response to rising temperatures.

"If we mess up with the Amazon, carbon dioxide emissions will increase so massively that everyone will suffer," she adds.
By some accounts, it could happen quite fast.
The rainforest creates rain
Bolsonaro, a right-wing congressman from Rio de Janeiro, soundly defeated a former mayor of Sao Paulo in Brazil's presidential election late last month. The populist president-elect is so openly hostile to his country's established order that some call him "Tropical Trump."
His rise comes at a perilous moment for the Amazon.
From poison dart frogs and giant anteaters to golden lion tamarins and stinging bullet ants, the South American rainforest is the most species-rich biome on Earth, with more diverse plant life in a single acre than may be found in many American states. It is home to 10 percent of the world's species, including 2.5 million species of insect.
The forest also influences the water cycle on a regional and perhaps even global scale. As moisture comes off the Atlantic Ocean it falls on the forest as rain. This water gets sucked up by deep roots, then moves through plants and across the surface of leaves before returning to the atmosphere. Winds blowing over the uneven forest canopy create turbulence, which allows the atmosphere to absorb more moisture.
All this water then moves like a giant flowing river in the sky, falling as rain and then evaporating again and again until it reaches the Andes. Ultimately, the forest produces at least half of its own rain.
"One water vapor molecule may be recycled five to seven times before it leaves the system, either through the atmosphere or the Amazon River," says Carlos Nobre, a climate scientist with the University of Sao Paulo's Institute for Advanced Studies.
But experts increasingly fear this delicate exchange could collapse. The loss of just a fraction more of this moisture-creating forest could lead far more of it to dry out, which would reduce rainfall even more, in a self-reinforcing spiral. Already, climate change, decades of logging, and land-clearing by intentionally set wildfires have sparked record-setting droughts in 2005, 2010, and 2015-2016.
"That suggests the system is flickering," says Thomas Lovejoy, a George Mason University professor and senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation, who is widely considered the godfather of biodiversity studies.
Lovejoy and Nobre recently tried to estimate how close to the edge the Amazon really is. Their projection, published earlier this year as an editorial in Science Advances, suggests that in the most susceptible parts of the rainforest—the southern, eastern and central Amazon—loss of as little as 20 to 25 percent of original forestland could tip the system into an unstoppable transition to a drier, savanna-like ecosystem.
Already, by the Brazilian government's own estimates, 17 percent of the Amazon forest system has been lost—not including the parts that are still largely intact, but degraded.
How likely is the scenario Lovejoy describes?
"It's not something we know with any confidence, but it's a possibility—and not just a crazy, harebrained possibility. It's a very real one," says Abigail L. S. Swann, a University of Washington eco-climatologist who is contributing to a chapter on abrupt landscape changes for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's next assessment.
While no one knows precisely where the Amazon’s tipping point may lie, "it makes no sense at all to discover the tipping point by actually tipping over it," Lovejoy says.
The forest is changing already
Even as Bolsonaro prepares to take office, the Amazon is already changing.
The dry season is lengthening and rainfall has dropped by a quarter in some regions. Meanwhile, precipitation, when it comes, sometimes arrives in more intense bursts, leading to massive floods in 2009, 2012, and 2014. The region's climate system is oscillating more wildly.
In the study she led, published in the journal Global Change Biology with more than a hundred other scientists as co-authors, Esquivel-Muelbert found that during the past 30 years, more drought-tolerant plant species have appeared in the Amazon, while species that predominantly emerge in wet areas are declining. Fast-growing trees and taller trees that are better at accessing the sun are outcompeting shorter, damp-loving species.
Another study shows the rate of tree deaths is increasing.
It's not clear whether all this is the beginning of the shift Lovejoy and Nobre predicted—or something else. "But it's still important because the species are beginning to change, and that can change how the forest behaves," Esquivel-Muelbert says.
How will that change the interactions among tens of thousands of species within the jungle? No one yet knows.
"It's sending ripples through the system, and we have no idea where they are going to lead," Lovejoy says. "It could become a much simpler ecosystem, and what that means in terms of its overall stability is a real question."
If Lovejoy is right, and heat and deforestation lead to less rain and a transition to a different type of landscape, consequences will be felt far and wide.
Expanding ripples
For starters, it's impossible to quantify the true value of lost diversity. In one recent review, a team found evidence that 381 new types of plants or animals had been discovered in the Amazon during a single two-year period from 2014 to 2015—the equivalent of one new species every other day.
"It's kind of a cliché that the cure for cancer might be in the Amazon, but it's also kind of true," Esquivel-Muelbert says.
Moisture from the Amazon also nourishes the winter rains that supply Uruguay, northern Argentina and Paraguay with water. The recent drought that led to water shortages in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, were likely exacerbated by rainforest shifts.
In some places, rainfall in the Amazon also helps supply water to the very soy farmers and beef ranchers who are clearing the forest. Brazilian agriculture, it seems, actually needs the Amazon.
"We need to have forest in order to have the rain necessary to plant crops," Esquivel-Muelbert says.
Massive deforestation of the Amazon could change weather outside South America as well. Because water vapor heats the air as it condenses high in the sky to form liquid raindrops, a significant reduction in rain caused by deforestation would actually cool the atmosphere above the region. That cooling perturbation would leave the southern hemisphere in atmospheric waves—generating untold ripple effects around the planet.
According to one modeling study, for example, if the Amazon were ever completely deforested, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains—a crucial water reservoir for California—would be diminished by half.
That’s without even considering the effect on CO2 and climate.
Burning time
"The Amazon stores a tremendous amount of carbon," Nobre says.
Instead of sucking CO2 from the sky, a deforested Amazon could instead begin releasing stored greenhouse gases. If 60 percent of the forest were to degrade to a savanna, Nobre says, that could unleash the equivalent of five or six years’ worth of global fossil-fuel emissions.
Michael Mann, a climate scientist and director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, called it "another aggravating climate feedback" loop, where drying rainforest leads to less absorption of CO2, which in turn promotes more climate change, drying more forest.
"We depend quite a bit on the continued functioning of key carbon sinks," he says. "That’s just one of the many things that makes climate change a global problem."
In fact, deforestation, fire, and climate change already work synergistically in the Amazon. In recent years, climate change has sparked droughts that let wildfires burn bigger and longer. Between 2003 and 2013, forest clearing dropped by 76 percent, but the increase in wildfire, especially during the drought of 2015, erased half the increased absorption of CO2.
That's why Lovejoy and Nobre conclude that—contrary to Bolsonaro's campaign promise—what the Amazon needs is not deforestation, but a massive campaign of tree planting.
"It really makes sense to do some active reforestation to build that margin of safety," Lovejoy says. "It doesn't have to be the forest primeval, but you need something with trees and relatively complex communities."
At the very least, says Esquivel-Muelbert, Brazil should avoid clearing more. Asked what message she would send to Brazil's new president, she said: "Please, don't make things worse."

Monster Hunter World
Release Date: Jan 26
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4
The first current-gen Monster Hunter entry, this also marks the series' biggest world wide release. The franchise is much more popular in Japan, but hopefully break into the West with&nbsp... moreMonster Hunter World
Release Date: Jan 26
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4
The first current-gen Monster Hunter entry, this also marks the series' biggest world wide release. The franchise is much more popular in Japan, but hopefully break into the West with Monster Hunter World's giant, seamless environments and online co-op.
Shadow Of The Colossus Remake
Release Date: Feb 6
Platforms: PS4
Whether or not you played the original Shadow of the Colossus, this remake (not remaster) looks absolutely gorgeous. One of the most creative games ever made, SotC pits you and your trusty horse against massive colossi who you then have to climb and subdue.
Credit: Team ICO
Shadow of the Colossus
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Release Date: Feb 15
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4
I have some serious concerns about this game, but I do love the concept. It's like Skyrim or The Witcher 3 but set in a realistic Medieval open-world. I love the idea of an expansive Medieval RPG but recent footage of wooden dialogue and less-than-stellar facial animations has me concerned that this is releasing too soon. Don't be surprised if it's delayed.
Secret Of Mana Remake
Release Date: Feb 15
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS Vita
Another remake (not remaster) of yet another classic, though Secret of Mana is a game that dates back to the SNES era. Still one of the best JRPGs of all time (with a lovely score) I am beyond hyped to return to the game. I may have to play the original version on my SNES Classic Edition first, however.
Metal Gear: Survive
Release Date: Feb 20
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4
I'm not sure if I'm excited for Metal Gear: Survive or if what I'm feeling is morbid curiosity. It's no secret that Konami and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima parted ways after Metal Gear Solid V. The question is whether Konami can make a good Metal Gear game without him. I think they can---theoretically---I'm just not sure this is that game. We shall see.
Credit: Polyarc Games
Moss for PSVR
Moss
Release Date: Feb (?)
Platforms: PS VR
I'm not a huge fan of VR games. They still feel mostly gimmicky. But Moss, the story of a little mouse on a big adventure, looks incredibly charming. It's one of those games I see and think "Why can't this be just a regular game rather than a VR game?" But I'm crossing my fingers that it will pleasantly surprise us.
Sea Of Thieves
Release Date: March 20
Platforms: PC, Xbox One
Sea of Thieves looks like a cool concept that's maybe a few years too late. I want to believe that it will be a big hit for the Xbox One, but cartoony pirate co-op strikes me as something with fairly limited reach. I hope I'm wrong and the game is a smash hit that defies all expectations. At the same time, I think I'd be more excited for a big pirate game that was more solo-focused with co-op as an option.
Credit: Microsoft
Sea of Thieves
Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life
Release Date: March 20
Platforms: PS4
I've never really gotten into the Yakuza series but that's something I aim to change in 2018. I like Japanese games. I like crime games. I like action games. Sounds like Yakuza would be a good fit, though I'm not really sure where to start. Certainly this game has received rave reviews in Japan where it released in 2016, earning a 39/40 from Famitsu.
Valkyria Chronicles 4
Release Date: March 21
Platforms: PS4 (later on Switch/Xbox One)
I loved the last Valkyria Chronicles game. It's part JRPG, part turn-based tactical third-person shooter, all set in a WWII-esque fictional conflict with tanks and rifles and engaging characters. The game picks up where the last one left off, as the Second Europan War is still being waged, but with new characters, better graphics and so forth. I'm very excited for this one.
A Way Out
Release Date: March 23
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4
I'm not sure if A Way Out is going to be good or not, but it's certainly an interesting concept. It's a two-player couch co-op game that takes place in split-screen. The twist is that one side of the screen can be playing a cut-scene while the other side can still be playing, meaning both characters' stories play out at the same time even as one character enters a rendered moment. Heavily choice based, it's the story of two convicts who escape prison and go out on the road for a big adventure. The biggest reason to be excited about this one is the studio's first game, Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons, which remains one of the most emotionally poignant, mechanically fascinating indie adventure games I've played.
Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom
Release Date: March 23
Platforms: PC, PS4
I loved everything about the first Ni No Kuni except for how tedious it became after a while. Combat, in particular, was a far too frequent chore. But the story, the characters, the animation, the fact that you're basically playing a Studio Ghibli movie as a game---all of that was wonderful. My hope with the sequel is that they've fixed the combat issues and put together another game as charming as the first without all the tedium.
Credit: Level-5
Ni No Kuni II
Far Cry 5
Release Date: March 27
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4
More than likely, from all we've seen so far, Far Cry 5 is going to be a lot like 3 and 4. That's a good thing and a bad thing. It's a good thing because those games have a winning formula that's a ton of fun to play: Crazy villain, big open world, lots of enemy bases to take down, and so forth. Lots of fun. On the other hand, maybe this formula has grown a bit stale. It would be neat to see the series take a bigger turn, much as did between 1 and 2 and between 2 and 3. Still, I'm excited to shoot psycho cultists in the land of my birth, Montana. And I'm excited to read all the silly hot takes on why the game is
Agony
Release Date: March 30
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Agony looks terrifying. From what little I've seen of it, this is not going to be a horror game for the meek or faint of heart. The entire game is built around an interesting possession mechanic. You start out in Hell and can possess other people and later lesser and greater demons. Sounds interesting and looks freaky.
Credit: MadMind Studio
Agony looks hellish.
We Happy Few
Release Date: Apr 13
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4
One of the more intriguing, zany looking games of 2018, We Happy Few is a survival-based game set in a dystopian fictional 1960s English town called Wellington Wells where everybody is constantly high on a hallucinogenic drug called Joy. It looks a bit like A Clockwork Orange meets Brazil and while its Early Access reviews are mixed on Steam, I'm hoping the final release will be fantastic. It certainly looks like nothing else coming out this year.
Sunless Skies
Release Date: May (?)
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
The sequel to the popular indie hit Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies abandons the oceans and heads for the stars. Instead of a steam ship, you pilot a space locomotive. The same RPG, survival and roguelike elements are all here, and while the game has been seeing mixed reviews in Early Access, judging by the quality of its predecessor this should be yet another great game.
Jurassic World: Evolution
Release Date: June (?)
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Basically Jurassic World: Evolution is SimCity with dinosaurs. Based on the movie, you construct your own dino theme park, unlocking various new dinosaurs along the way. Not sure if you get to train your own velociraptors, but I'm hoping the answer is "no." Some things are just too silly, even for games and movies.
**Release Date To Be Announced, Slated For 2018**
Credit: New World Entertainment
Insurgency: Sandstorm
The following games, as of this writing, do not have a release date but have been announced for 2018. As with the above games, this could change at any time, with release dates, or delays, announced. Some could even be cancelled. Hopefully most of these see a 2018 release. There's little chance all of them will (and of course, more will be added like the annual Call of Duty game, etc.)

Ghost Of Tsushima
Release Date: TBA
Platforms: PS4
Sucker Punch Games is probably best known for the stealth-based Sly Cooper series. They went on to make the action-packed superhero Infamous games and now they're taking yet another hard turn, this time making a gorgeous looking Samurai title called Ghost of Tsushima, which we honestly know next to nothing about at this point. The last Samurai game I played was Nioh and it was awesome, so I say the more Samurai games the better.
Credit: Sucker Punch
Ghosts of Tsushima less

Bahria Anihi 1160Happiness report: Finland is world's 'happiest country' - UN
Nordic countries regularly appear in the top five, while war-hit countries and a number in sub-Saharan Africa regularly appear in the bottom five.
Burundi was the least happy, taking over from... moreHappiness report: Finland is world's 'happiest country' - UN
Nordic countries regularly appear in the top five, while war-hit countries and a number in sub-Saharan Africa regularly appear in the bottom five.
Burundi was the least happy, taking over from the Central African Republic.
It was thrown into crisis when President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for re-election to a third term in 2015 sparked protests by opposition supporters who said the move was unconstitutional.
This year's report by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network also features data about the happiness of immigrants in their host countries, with Finland also coming top as home to the happiest immigrants. less

If you're new, Subscribe! → http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-Looper
Please Note: Movie release dates are subject to change.
In this era of major movie studios earmarking their spots on the release schedule years ahead of time, it isn't too early to start ...

Bahria Anihi 1160Pope’s top aids responded on Saturday to threats to the Vatican made in a new ISIS propaganda video.
According to the Catholic news website Cruxnow.com, Pope Francis’s top aid, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, spoke to reporters in Rimini, Italy.

... morePope’s top aids responded on Saturday to threats to the Vatican made in a new ISIS propaganda video.
According to the Catholic news website Cruxnow.com, Pope Francis’s top aid, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, spoke to reporters in Rimini, Italy.

"I saw, yes, yesterday that video that was shown on TV. Evidently, one cannot avoid worrying. Especially because of this senseless hatred that there is," he said.
We haven’t raised the security measures because the controls are already very high. St. Peter’s Square, as pilgrims and tourists can ascertain, is always very well protected.” less